Thursday, 12 December 2013
Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Blowing ones own 'Trumpet'
Being brought up 'British' we were taught that it is 'terribly bad form' to 'blow ones own trumpet' and for years I believed this to be true.
Recently I started to question this belief asking myself, "Well if I don't, who will?" and "What constitutes 'blowing ones own trumpet'?"
The Phrase Finder defines it as, 'Act in a boastful, self promoting manner'.
At the beginning of this year I took a huge leap of faith. After 20 years in the décor industry I decided to follow my passion and set up a Coaching practice. Like any business today it required me to 'get the word out', advertise, market, self promote.... Ah! There it is ..... I had to 'self promote'!
Does that mean I have to 'blow my own trumpet'? Well yes it does rather. As a solo-entrepreneur have you ever tried to build a website or blog to promote you, your business and your achievements, that doesn't require you to 'self promote' and that doesn't sound boastful?
In olden days a trumpeter was used prior to a herald announcing news or a proclamation; possibly the earliest forms of advertising and marketing, a fore runner to blogging perhaps?
And talking of achievements, on Saturday morning I opened my e-mails to discover I had been awarded the designation of ACC (Associate Certified Coach) by the ICF (International Coach Federation - the world governing body of Coaches.) And whilst I enjoy the word 'awarded' a few others came to mind like; studied for, sweated over, practiced for, paid for and earned.
So in a 'word association' kind of way another word came to mind; celebrate. Which I did with good friends and a bottle or two of bubbles! It struck me that like blowing our own trumpet, if we don't celebrate our hard earned achievements, who will?
And finally I wondered; how many of my other beliefs or assumptions need to be questioned?
What beliefs or assumptions do you value that perhaps no longer serve you as well as they might have once? Please feel free to comment.
Recently I started to question this belief asking myself, "Well if I don't, who will?" and "What constitutes 'blowing ones own trumpet'?"
The Phrase Finder defines it as, 'Act in a boastful, self promoting manner'.
At the beginning of this year I took a huge leap of faith. After 20 years in the décor industry I decided to follow my passion and set up a Coaching practice. Like any business today it required me to 'get the word out', advertise, market, self promote.... Ah! There it is ..... I had to 'self promote'!
Does that mean I have to 'blow my own trumpet'? Well yes it does rather. As a solo-entrepreneur have you ever tried to build a website or blog to promote you, your business and your achievements, that doesn't require you to 'self promote' and that doesn't sound boastful?
In olden days a trumpeter was used prior to a herald announcing news or a proclamation; possibly the earliest forms of advertising and marketing, a fore runner to blogging perhaps?
And talking of achievements, on Saturday morning I opened my e-mails to discover I had been awarded the designation of ACC (Associate Certified Coach) by the ICF (International Coach Federation - the world governing body of Coaches.) And whilst I enjoy the word 'awarded' a few others came to mind like; studied for, sweated over, practiced for, paid for and earned.
So in a 'word association' kind of way another word came to mind; celebrate. Which I did with good friends and a bottle or two of bubbles! It struck me that like blowing our own trumpet, if we don't celebrate our hard earned achievements, who will?
And finally I wondered; how many of my other beliefs or assumptions need to be questioned?
What beliefs or assumptions do you value that perhaps no longer serve you as well as they might have once? Please feel free to comment.
Saturday, 12 October 2013
Creative Entrepreneurs and why I coach them/us!
Why I choose to work with Creative Entrepreneurs.
Skilful coaching requires the Coach to be able to Coach 'beyond content' as exampled by Timothy Gallwey in his book "The Inner Game OF Tennis". Here he sites the example of successfully using Skiing coaches at a Tennis camp because they knew nothing of tennis. The coaches were able to concentrate on coaching rather than getting bogged down by the intricacies of tennis.
Having said this, one of the key tenets of coaching is to be able to establish trust and intimacy with the client. We tend to gravitate towards people with whom we have things in common and in my case, it's creative entrepreneurs. Typical of me, I don't choose the easy route as outlined in this article on creative entrepreneurs, but it does go some way to explaining who we are and why we are like we are, and in my mind, why we need Coaches who understand us!
If you are a creative entrepreneur, you really need to click on this link below!
http://www.fastcompany.com/3016689/leadership-now/10-paradoxical-traits-of-creative-people
Skilful coaching requires the Coach to be able to Coach 'beyond content' as exampled by Timothy Gallwey in his book "The Inner Game OF Tennis". Here he sites the example of successfully using Skiing coaches at a Tennis camp because they knew nothing of tennis. The coaches were able to concentrate on coaching rather than getting bogged down by the intricacies of tennis.
Having said this, one of the key tenets of coaching is to be able to establish trust and intimacy with the client. We tend to gravitate towards people with whom we have things in common and in my case, it's creative entrepreneurs. Typical of me, I don't choose the easy route as outlined in this article on creative entrepreneurs, but it does go some way to explaining who we are and why we are like we are, and in my mind, why we need Coaches who understand us!
If you are a creative entrepreneur, you really need to click on this link below!
http://www.fastcompany.com/3016689/leadership-now/10-paradoxical-traits-of-creative-people
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| Picture: Thinkstock Source: news.com.au |
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
Is poor communication costing you money, time, enery, endless frustration and stress?
Poor communication is most commonly caused by our inability to LISTEN.
Listening is a learned skill, we all think we have it, but very few do. True listening is listening with focus and undivided attention, reading facial and body language, and at its deepest level, listening with intuition.
Listening attentively is one of the quickest ways of forging a bond between yourself and another person. I hear you! I value you!
To listen well you have to put your life on pause and listen, REALLY listen.
Improving our listening skills and those of our colleagues will enhance our and their effectiveness, reduce frustration, improve feedback, save time, money and energy. Poor communication whether one-to-one with colleagues or clients, or within a group or organization is most commonly caused by poor listening skills and is expensive, time consuming, a source of endless frustration and stress.
Listening occurs on 3 different levels
Listening Skills Workshop
Most of us listen on level 1 and occasionally level 2. This Listening Skills workshop is designed to develop your ability to listen on all 3 levels, to listen deeply and with understanding. Once achieved this gives rise to quality feedback and the ability to check if you have been heard.
For more information on organizing a Listening Skills Workshop for you and your colleagues contact me at info@coachingworx.co.za
I look forward to HEARING from you!
Listening is a learned skill, we all think we have it, but very few do. True listening is listening with focus and undivided attention, reading facial and body language, and at its deepest level, listening with intuition.
Listening attentively is one of the quickest ways of forging a bond between yourself and another person. I hear you! I value you!
To listen well you have to put your life on pause and listen, REALLY listen.
Improving our listening skills and those of our colleagues will enhance our and their effectiveness, reduce frustration, improve feedback, save time, money and energy. Poor communication whether one-to-one with colleagues or clients, or within a group or organization is most commonly caused by poor listening skills and is expensive, time consuming, a source of endless frustration and stress.
Listening occurs on 3 different levels
- First level listening where we listen but tend to be distracted by something else or by our inner voice.
- Second level listening where we actually pay deep attention to what is being said.
- Third level listening where we start to listen intuitively and take into account visual signals of communication.
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| http://mainstreetmix.com/6-ways-listening-can-make-you-successful/ |
Most of us listen on level 1 and occasionally level 2. This Listening Skills workshop is designed to develop your ability to listen on all 3 levels, to listen deeply and with understanding. Once achieved this gives rise to quality feedback and the ability to check if you have been heard.
For more information on organizing a Listening Skills Workshop for you and your colleagues contact me at info@coachingworx.co.za
I look forward to HEARING from you!
Sunday, 29 September 2013
My Tern C7 'urban warrior'
Every Day I Learn Something New...and sometimes the hard way!
Took my new Tern C7 'urban warrior' bicycle out for another ride today and discovered 2 very important things:
1. Green Point is not as flat as it looks on foot. All cycle paths leading from my home are in fact a gentle downhill and therefore the return trip is a not so gentle up hill!
2. I also discovered which way the predominant wind - the South Easter - actually blows.....into your face on the not so gentle uphill return journey!
OK. 3 things....I am going to have stiff legs tomorrow!http://www.camissabicycles.co.za/p/tern-folding-bicycles-south-africa.html
1. Green Point is not as flat as it looks on foot. All cycle paths leading from my home are in fact a gentle downhill and therefore the return trip is a not so gentle up hill!
2. I also discovered which way the predominant wind - the South Easter - actually blows.....into your face on the not so gentle uphill return journey!
OK. 3 things....I am going to have stiff legs tomorrow!http://www.camissabicycles.co.za/p/tern-folding-bicycles-south-africa.html
Thursday, 26 September 2013
How do you handle frustrating situations?
Today I set myself 2 'not-so-little' goals. The first was to complete and send of my ACC credential application to the ICF and the second to complete and send my profile to Coach Directory.
Just getting everything ready (especially the recording) for my ACC application was a challenge of note and if it wasn't for very loyal and patient friends, I would never have got this far.
Psyching myself up to completing the online questionnaire, I plunged in, only to have my credit card rejected!
But the good news is I completed and e-mailed off my profile for the Coach Directory!
So how do I handle frustrating situations?.....like the tortoise, I just plod on.
Just getting everything ready (especially the recording) for my ACC application was a challenge of note and if it wasn't for very loyal and patient friends, I would never have got this far.
Psyching myself up to completing the online questionnaire, I plunged in, only to have my credit card rejected!
But the good news is I completed and e-mailed off my profile for the Coach Directory!
So how do I handle frustrating situations?.....like the tortoise, I just plod on.
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